Update: Here’s what actually was announced at D23!

In a week, Josh D’Amaro will take the stage in Anaheim’s Honda Center as part of the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 Expo. The Expo promises to be a banner weekend for theme park announcements, the likes of which we haven’t seen in nearly a decade. In this post, we’ll discuss what could be announced at each resort!

There are plenty of reasons to believe the hype when it comes to D23 Expo. Most promising is the 60 billion dollars that Disney plans to invest into their experiences worldwide. That includes Disneyland, WDW, Disney Cruise Line and the international parks that they own the majority stake in. Diving further in likely investments, Walt Disney World should see 17 billion dollars in planned development while at least 2 billion is coming to Disneyland Resort after DisneylandForward was approved.

Let’s be clear, that money will be invested in years and decades to come. Expecting 19 billion dollars worth of announcements is unreasonable, no matter how many times ‘turbocharged’ is said. All of that money isn’t coming at once but it is coming!

For the last 5 years, Disney has been slow playing announcements. Of course, some of that is pandemic influenced. But the 2022 D23 Expo turned into nothing more than a Blue Sky idea session without any real progress. With Epic Universe in Orlando looming and a low attendance summer across both resorts, everything is setting up for a big night of announcements.

What will those announcements be? I don’t have a crystal ball but there are some things that seem pretty certain. I’m going to break predictions down by resort and separate them into categories – likely, there’s a chance, and let me dream. I think those are pretty self-explanatory. They also might not be very well named! I’ll add a little bit of commentary to each one. I’m sure I’ve forgotten things in the list and am hopeful for a few major surprises too. I’ll address the international parks at the end of the post. Let’s get to it!

Walt Disney World Predictions

Likely

A New Nighttime Parade – It’s been a long time coming at this point! Magic Kingdom has long been in need of a nighttime parade and I think a brand new one will debut in 2025.

DVC Resort Near Wilderness Lodge – Once upon a time, Disney announced Reflections – A Lakeside Resort. This was set to be near Wilderness Lodge and act as a DVC hotel. Those plans have been picked back up off the shelf and dusted off, although I’m not sure if the concept or name will be the same. Expect some sort of DVC announcement on that though!

Updates – An update on Test Track 3.0 and Zootopia show in Animal Kingdom seem inevitable. The latter should lead right into…

Tropical Americas – One of the ideas teased at the last D23 Expo was a Dinoland replacement in Animal Kingdom. Since then, permits have been filed and the project has become clearer. I expect a full Tropical Americas reveal with new concept art and details on what will be included.

Beyond Big Thunder – The other project teased at the previous D23 was a Magic Kingdom expansion. There has been a little bit of progress made here, with a few permits, so something seems to be on the horizon. That said, I could see this announcement being pushed off and would consider this the least likely of the ‘likely’ category.

New Entertainment – I mentioned earlier this week just how much Hollywood Studios and other parks could use an entertainment overhaul. With so many of these projects being long term, something in the interim feels imminent besides the parade. I’m very hopeful on this one!

There’s a Chance!

Lion King Ride at Animal Kingdom – This may be more likely than a few of the previous category. I’m just trying to protect my hopes and dreams. I love Lion King, Animal Kingdom desperately needs new attractions, it all just makes so much sense. Here’s hoping this one comes true!

A Re-Imagination Pavilion – Look, we’ll just keep hoping for this one until it actually happens. The Imagination Pavilion in Epcot needs to be redone 10 years ago. Now that other projects in Epcot have, uhhh, wrapped up, it stands to reason that Imagination gets a turn.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Retheme – Every few months, a blogger/podcaster/influencer like me will bring up that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster could be redone. This has happened for over a decade. Maybe this will finally happen now!

Let Me Dream!

New World Showcase Pavilion – I’ll keep referencing past announcements I guess! World Showcase was set to add a pavilion or two quite a while back. Brushing off those plans to add Brazil or any number of countries would get the room buzzing!

Keep the Mary Poppins Dream Alive! – While we’re on the subject, let’s get that small Mary Poppins addition to World Showcase. Even if it’s a carousel, that would be a fun addition.

A Starcruiser to Hollywood Studios Connection – Yes, the Galactic Starcruiser is dead and gone. A failed experiment. But the building is still there and isn’t far from Hollywood Studios. Seems like a perfect time to dream up something with the space!

A 5th Park – I don’t actually think this is a good idea at the moment but it doesn’t feel like a true list without this.

Disneyland Resort

Likely

Avatar Attraction and/or Land – This has been all but announced at this point. There’s even been concept art! Some of that was used to push DisneylandForward across the finish line but I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t an official announcement at the Expo.

70th Anniversary Entertainment – Next summer is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. An announcement may come later on instead of at the Expo, but I think some additional entertainment will be headed the resort’s way. I’m guessing that will include a fireworks show and hopefully a nighttime parade. Wondrous Journeys coming back for an extended run isn’t outside the realm of possibility!

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening Date – This may be a boring one but with it’s counterpart opening in WDW, an opening date at Disneyland for this rethemed attraction seems inevitable. Hopefully we’ll get some news on the Country Bear restaurant, as well!

Marvel E-Ticket – This has been announced so many times that it feels like something would be wrong if they didn’t make another announcement for it! I don’t know what the plan is but I’m guessing we’ll hear another version of the plan at the Expo.

There’s a Chance!

Tomorrowland Makeover – Opinions seem to really vary on this one. Some think a Tomorrowland overhaul announcement is imminent, others are wary. I’m somewhere in between, I don’t think this is a sure thing but it is an obvious need for Disneyland. There are so many ways to go with it that I don’t even know what to predict within the prediction. But I’m hopeful that this will be a multiple phase project that improves one of Disneyland’s weakest areas.

Arendelle – I think a Fantasyland expansion in Disneyland will happen sometime in the next decade. But I’m not sold on it being announced this year. When it does happen, a mini Frozen land is definitely the front runner for ideas. There’s some great inspiration for it that just opened in Tokyo DisneySea.

California Adventure Expanding – We’ve seen lots of ideas and art about how Disneyland Resort’s second gate could expand. I wouldn’t be shocked to see more of that, not necessarily with what will be a part of the expansion but what space the new stuff will take up.

Let Me Dream!

A New Hotel – Now that Pixar Place Hotel has wrapped up, Disney turning their attention to a 4th hotel in Anaheim would make all the sense in the world. I think this is a few years down the road though.

California Adventure Gets a New Name – With all of the changes DCA has gone through, the name isn’t as applicable anymore. Maybe it’s time for a change? That happened in Paris so maybe it happens here, as well.

The Country Bears Take Back Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Hey, let me dream!

International Parks

I’m not as well versed on the international parks outside of Tokyo, so I won’t dive into these predictions headfirst. Instead, I’ll clumsily stumble into the pool. Speaking of Tokyo, I think an update on the Tomorrowland projects will happen. That includes a new Space Mountain and Wreck-It Ralph taking over the Buzz space. Otherwise, I think news will be quiet on the Tokyo front.

Shanghai and Hong Kong are interesting cases, both looking primed for their next project. In Hong Kong that could mean the Marvel E-ticket that has been on and off again. Shanghai is a different story. It could be something Marvel related too. I’d like to see that park continue to expand.

Finally, that brings us to Paris. Highlighting the projects at that resort while the city is fresh in everyone’s mind because of the Olympics makes sense. That includes the ongoing expansion and makeover of Disney Adventure World. If that Lion King attraction is announced for Animal Kingdom, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go here too.

What would you like to see announced at the D23 Expo? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! If you’re planning a trip to a Disney Park, make sure to check out our Planning Guides to help you along the way. This site has discount tickets for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!